Lug box



Aug. 29, 1944. R. P. BARBOLR LUG BOX F`led Jan. 11, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 29, 1944.

LUG BOX `Filed Jan. '11, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 me/Wto@ R,P.Barbour www Patented Aug. 29, 1944 UNITED STATE LUG BOX Roswell P. Barbour, Lodi, Calif., assignor of cnehalf to Charles Beckman, Jr., Lodi, Calif.

Application January 11, 1943, serial No. 471,926

Y1 claim.

The present invention relates in general to an improvement in lug boxes, such as used for shipment of fruit, and especially grapesto the market; the invention being directed in particular to, and it is one of the objects to provide, a lug box which includes a unique lid assembly, wherein the lid is secured in place on the box frictionally or with a spring t. Such lid assembly is very advantageous in that lidding of boxes can be accomplished in the eld readily and quickly by unskilled labo-r, without the use Yof nails or tools and at a relatively low cost; and additionally, when the box is delivered to the retailer the lid can be manually removed without the need of tools and without destroying any portion of the vbox or disturbing its contents.

A further-object of this invention is to provide a lug box which includes a lid assembly Vlo which-is so arranged that the lid automaticallyv Y conforms to either a high or low pack, reducing crushing of the fruit to a minimum, and further when suchboxes are stacked in a railroad car with supportingvstrips betweenthe top and bottom of adjacent boxes, the upper box cannot depress the upwardly bowed lid of the lower box to an extent suiiicient to 'crush the fruit in said lower box, and as occurs with the boxes presently in use. Y

It is also an object of this invention to provide a lug box and lid assembly which comprises, in

combination, a box whose ends are horizontally and transversely grooved from adjacent or inner faces; the lid being flexible, resilient, and of a slightly greater length than the distance between the bottoms of the opposed grooves in the box ends, wherebywhen the ends of said lid are seated in said grooves, the lid is bowed upward and the spring action thereof frictionally maintains the ends of the lid in the grooves and secures the lid in place.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a lug box and lid assembly, as in the preceding paragraph, in which the lower wall of each of the grooves is horizontal in a plane transversely thereof, while the upper Wall-from the bottom of the corresponding groove-extends at an upward slope in said transverse planeto permit the adjacent end portion of the lid to assume such angle as the height of the pack in the box may require. Y

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device, and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such 55 structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claim.

In the drawingsl similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

` Figure 1 is aside elevation of one form of the lugv box with the'lid in place and illustrating the position which said lidV initially occupies when the pack in the box is relatively high j Figure 2 is aL longitudinal sectional elevation of therlugA box with the lid in place and illustrating the position of said lid when the box includes a pack of normal height, or when the lid has adjusted to normal position over an initially high but settled pack.

Figurev 3 is a perspectiveview of one form of lid.

g Figure 4 is a perspective view of another form of lid.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of anotheriorm of the lug box with the lid in place.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, and particularly at present to Figs. 1 t0 3, the lug box is of rectangular conguration in plan' and includes sides I and ends 2, the ends terminating at their upper edge 3 some distance above the upper edge 4 of the sides I. Theends 2 from their inner or adjacent faces 5 are horizontally and transverselygrooved as at 6; these grooves being cut in the ends 2 some distance below the upper edges 3, and extending the full width of said ends.

The bottom wall 'l of each groove is horizontal in a plane transversely thereof, while the upper wall-from the bottom of the groove-extends at an upward slope in said plane; Such formation of the groove in its transverse section is for the purpose hereinafter described.

The lid which isV used with the above described box comprises any necessary number of elongated panels 9 of equal length disposed in side by side rbut slightly spaced relation, said panels being secured together but slightlyL short of their ends by cross cleats lil. The panels 9 are formed of what is known as Veneer lid Inaterial, which is relatively thin wood and consequently flexible but resilient; the grain of the wood extending lengthwise of the panels 9.

The over-al1 width of the lid is slightly less than i the distance between sides l, while the over-all length of the lid is slightly greater than the distance between the bottoms vof the opposed grooves 6.

In use thelid is placed on the box in the following manner: The end portions of panels 9 at grooves 6. Thereafter the lid is bowed upwardly and the opposite end portions of the panels 9 are theninserted in the other groove 6. The lid is then released.

As is apparent, the spring action of the bowed lid retains the ends thereof in and against accidental escape from the grooves 6. When the pack in the box is relatively high, the end portions of the panels 9 of the lid will not seat in the bottom of the vgrooves 6, as shown in Fig. 1. However, when the pack settles thebowed lid will automatically compensate or conform thereto and will assume the normal position shown in Fig. 2, and in which position the end portions of the panels 9 seat against the bottoms of the grooves 6. The cleats Ill are preferably disposed so that they come to rest against the faces 5 of the ends 2 at such time.

By forming the ends 2 of such height that they terminate at their upper edges above corresponding edges of the sides 2, the pack in the boxes, even if initially high, cannot be pressed downward beyond the normal position of the bowed lid, as shown in Fig. 2. The 'reason for this is that the car strips II which are placed between the top and bottom of stacked boxes rest on said upper edges 3 and cannot depress the bowed lid below said normal position.

The upper wall 8 of the grooves 6 is sloped as dened for the purpose of permitting the adjacent end portions of the panels 9 of the lid to assume such angle as may correspond to the bow of the lid, whereby to prevent binding between the spring'flt lid and box ends.

In the type of lid shown in Fig. 4, the lid panels 9a are bound together at the ends by metal strips I2 of U shaped cross section into which the panels project, The strips do not materially increase the thickness of the lid, so that it may be used with the box the same as the rst described type of lid.

In the type of box shown in Fig. 5, the ends 2a terminate at their upper edge adjacent the upper edge of the sides Ia, and are built up to the necessary height by cleats I3 nailed or otherwise secured thereon. These cleats are considerably wider, lengthwise of the box, than the thickness of the ends 2a and are disposed so that their outer edges are Hush with the outer face of the ends, thus leaving the additional width overhanging the box as shown.

The lid receiving grooves Ba are formed between the ends 2a and the cleats I3; the lower one end of the lid are first inserted in one of the horizontal wall 'Ia of each groove being the top of the corresponding end, while the bottom and the upper sloping Wall 8a of said groove is formed in the cleat by undercutting the same, and extends to the innermost face thereof. In this manner, without increasing the thickness of the box ends, or weakening the same by cutting unduly deep grooves therein, large lid-retaining surfaces are provided lengthwise of the box, which enable the lid to be bowed considerably while still being firmly held in place. This enables the lid to embrace a pack of initially great height or projection above the top of the box.

Either type of lid may be used with this box, but it will be understood that if the cleated lid is used, the cleats Will be set farther back from the ends, as shown, to compensate for the greater extent of the cleats I3 and the correspondingly greater extent of the upper Walls of the grooves. By virtue of the construction embodied in my improved lug box and lid assembly, lidding of boxes in the field is a simple manual procedure which can be accomplished rapidly, at low cost, and without the need of tools of any sort or skilled labor; the lid automatically conforming to the pack both initially and during transit, and

such lid being readily manually removable by the retailer upon delivery to him of the box.

From the foregoing description it can be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A lug box and lid assembly comprising a box including spaced end members, transverse horizontal grooves being formed in facing relation at the ends of the box adjacent the upper edges thereof, and a vertically exible and resilient lid having rigid cross cleats thereon adjacent but short of its ends, said lid being of a length greater than the distance between said end members, and said cleats being positioned to engage said end members when the ends of the lid are seated against the bottom of corresponding grooves.

ROSWELL P. BARBOUR. 

